1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for processing data. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for managing tag clouds.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet, also referred to as an “internetwork”, is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from a protocol of the sending network to a protocol used by the receiving network. When capitalized, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols. The Internet may carry information and provide services. The information and services include, for example, electronic mail, online chat services, file transfers, web pages, and other resources.
The Internet is a commonly used source of information and entertainment. Further, the Internet is also used as a medium for business activities. Many businesses, government entities, and other organizations have a presence on the Internet using websites to perform various transactions. Various organizations may offer goods and services. These goods and services may involve a sale of goods that are to be shipped to a customer. The goods also may be software and/or data purchased by a customer and transferred over the Internet to the customer.
Users may navigate websites on the Internet using browsers. Users often employ search engines to identify websites containing information of interest to users. When a user visits a website, information in the website may be reached in a number of different ways. For example, different links may be present to guide a user to different portions of the website.
Another mechanism used to identify information in a website is a tag cloud. A tag cloud is a visual depiction of tags. These tags typically take the form of words that describe the content of a website. A tag cloud may include tags for a single website or multiple websites. A tag may be associated with a universal resource locator. As a result, a selection of a tag results in information associated with the tag being retrieved for the user.
Tags may have many different visual properties. For example, tags may have different colors, intensities, fonts, font sizes, and/or other attributes to differentiate one tag from another tag. Tags also may occur in alphabetical order, in a random order, sorted by weight, and other mechanisms.
For example, a website may be for hosting a blog. In this example, a tag cloud is used to identify what different users are writing about in the blog. Tags may be displayed in a manner that identifies what words are used the most by different writers. Tags for words that occur more often may have a different font size or color to indicate the increased use of the particular word in the blog.